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Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway celebrates its 100th year of existence.

Cars begin to roll into position on the grid for the 93rd Indy 500.

Oriel Servia shows off his entry for "Strangest Helmet Design"

The Purex car hoped to clean up today... but it wasn't to be...
Driver Mike Conway has a shot at Rookie of the Year with contender Matos hurting his chances with a late wreck (that was avoidable).

Sarah Fisher had perhaps her best all around month of May.

Milka Duno provided the role of 'moving chicane'.

A photo for Dukie of John Andretti making a pit stop.

TV Star Buddy Ebsen makes an appearance at the 500. OK... I know it's Letterman but the older he gets the more he looks like Buddy Ebsen (Jed Clampett, Barnaby Jones).

Townsend Bell had an excellent run today. He was on a 2nd week program and parlayed that into a solid 4th place finish.

Townsend shows his racing smarts by getting around a pitted Milka Duno rather than having to pass her on the track. For anyone who needs to test their scanner at the track, I recommend tuning in Milka's channel. It's a constant stream of coaching and spotting "Hold your line... Get up on him... Get in the draft... Watch your line... You got it, keep it up... Be patient...."

The only thing 'pinker' than Pink Lloyd's car was his driving suit.

Ryan Hunter-Reay puts the Vision Racing Izod car into a couple of walls (outside wall and then pit wall).

Vitor Meira's AJ Foyt Crew put out the fire on his ABC Supply Co. machine... and then send him back out to race. Meira was later involved in the Matos crash which left Vitor with a couple of broken vertebrae.

----
Let's talk about the fence climbing first. I'm pretty sure the reason they didn't want him climbing the fence was because ABC/ESPN was trying to rush the finish to wrap the show. As Helio was coming around on his victory lap off turn 4 the Penske team informed him TV was running late and they wanted him rolling straight into victory lane. Helio replied "(But) I wanna climb the fence!"
...And so did every last person at the track... and I'd venture to say, so did every TV viewer. This kind of stuff is EXACTLY why I appreciate the job Versus does with their race coverage. Let the natural drama and story develop... don't worry about the clock! Screw you ABC/ESPN!!

The race didn't have a lot of drama itself. It appears some of the recent rule tweaks have hurt the racing more than helped. Tweaking of the rear wheelbase was disallowed this year and there was some speculation this made the cars harder to handle in traffic. With that in mind, the Helio drama was the storyline to save the race for fans and media. To try and short-circuit and abbreviate that storyline for both Helio and fans is just inexcusable in my opinion. Let it play out in its own time. Totally short-sighted by ABC/ESPN and for the speedway to actually try and accommodate them...BOO! HISS!!

I know I'm big on slamming Danica... but she did have a good race today. I actually saw her passing cars on the track. And on the final restart, not only did she not go backwards (as often happens), she got racy with Dan Wheldon and forced him to think more about defending his 2nd place position than taking a shot at Helio. And in the clean air, Helio checked out. 3rd place was a very solid finish for Danica... and it appeared to be a "legitimate" 3rd place (solid pit stops and the accelerator)... not a "massaged" 3rd place (short pitting, fuel strategy, and a lucky timed yellow flag or two).

Since she's "Danica" that 3rd place probably overshadowed the 2nd place that Wheldon got in his Natl Guard sponsored Panther machine. ...Or maybe that camo paint job just made him too hard to see.
He had a steady drive to where he needed to be at the end... but just like Vitor last year (also in a Panther machine), 2nd place was all that was in it.

This race marked a first... It's the first time that a 500 featuring both an Andretti and a Foyt had both those names finishing all 200 laps. John Andretti and Foyt IV made it happen. Hard to believe Mario and AJ didn't do it more themselves in all the years at the speedway.

Crowd:
I don't know... I heard the radio yapping on about the traffic and crowds really being up this morning. We were going to park at the airport and pay the (now) 30.00ea for the shuttle service but apparently the charter service was not operating in the same way Indygo did. No "race parking" signs etc at the airport that we saw directing people to the proper area and we ended up just driving on in toward the track and paying to park in someone's yard. With all the radio talk we were worried we didn't have time to figure out the bus deal or take chances with parking. Well, we could've parked closer... and we had little trouble getting in at the gate. In fact, if we would've went to our 'suggested' gate #6 we would've been in with NO waiting.

It breaks my heart to see empty seats at the Speedway. The lower seats at Pit in are in all likelihood overpriced. You look at those seats sitting empty and then you look just a few feet on down at the infield viewing mound and see it just jam packed (way before the race start even). I don't think the T4 viewing mound is a better 'seat' than the lower level seats at pit in. But it's probably a better value. The empty aluminum is sending the wrong signal though. I'd GREATLY reduce the price of those seats at the least (to general admission rates)... Or I'd paint them blue... or red... and make them actual general admission seats (first come, first served). OR... I'd just admit those seats aren't very desirable and just do away with them and put in some kind of vendor area (gift shop, restaurant, display area (cars, mini museum, etc) with seating above it (since the upper level seats are being used).

I'm not sure there was really more people this year but that seems to be the storyline. That said, we just took our seats today and didn't walk around in the infield. If the majority of the extra crowd was in the infield, we wouldn't have seen it.

Racing:
I'd re-look at the recent tweaks and car data and try and figure out where they made running in traffic so much more difficult. Maybe it isn't the rule tweaks per se', maybe the teams have just decided to go with low downforce for sheer speed and are making the on track passing problem themselves while expecting pit strategy to move them to the front where their low downforce will keep them there. If that's the case, I don't know what you do about that. That means the teams have made a decision that might not make for battles on the track, but they feel is in their best interest to win the race.

...Of course... there is the constant drumbeat to bring back innovation to the cars.... I'm right there with that drumbeat. I remember a few years back when Scott Sharp's team developed the 'soft limiter' which gave him an advantage to keep him out of the momentum killing 'hard limiter' and ultimately saw him win the pole that year. The media immediately jumped on this tiny innovation almost like they did with the Penske push-rod Mercedez. It became a story itself. I've long advocated opening the rulebook more for the Indy 500. Make a normal IRL car perfectly legal for the Indy 500... but allow for more chassis tweaks that wouldn't be legal for another IRL race. If someone wants to make an Indy only engine, if it fits within the engine rules, let them. Don't require them to supply the entire field. Same with the chassis.

Misc...
Is this "Engine Check" a new thing? For the life of me I don't remember this dedicated 'engine check' time being on the schedule before. At about (I think) 11:50AM there was a designated period where teams fired their engines with the cars on the grid. I thought year's ago there was even a rule where the engines could NOT be fired up on race day until the "(Ladies and) Gentlemen, start your engines!" command. I'm just curious if this is new... and if there's another point other than to check that the cars will fire for real when the command is given?

I'm sure I'll think of some more comments and add them later...
I ended up with a last minute late gig on Saturday afterall (after having the date blacked out) so I ended up not getting my battery charged on the camera (among many things I'd left to the last minute) which limited my photo taking (I was worried about it lasting to the finish)... I also had someone to my right front who managed to stand several times just at the absolute wrong moment. I'd be following a car in my viewfinder and then there this guy is... right where I planned to snap the shot... Oh well...
I still managed about 100 photos. Now... if I just had a nicer camera...

Last edited by Bball; 05-25-2009 at 03:36 PM.
Reason: Typo repair

Nuntius was right. I was wrong. Frank Vogel has retained his job.

------

"A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, thatís teamwork."

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

Additional comments:

Does anyone remember when Penske was 'the bad guy'? T-shirts that said "Anyone but Penske" weren't unusual. But at some point it all changed. Sure, there were fans too... and fans of his drivers... But there was always that "Anybody but Penske" undercurrent too.

Was it Rick Mears? Giving Al Unser Sr the ride that got him his 4th Indy 500? Did it change in '94 with fan favorite Little Al's 2nd win? In '95 when Penske's team didn't even make the race showing they were human after all? Maybe it was a view of the landscape without Penske during the split? Is it Helio?

Maybe it's all that rolled up into a realization that Penske has gotten where he's gotten by "playing the right way". Hard work, good character, and more hard work. He's not just throwing more money at running his team, he's throwing more effort at it. He's surrounded himself with quality people, and people that have a healthy respect for the Indianapolis 500 and open wheel racing.

Whatever the case, the Penske haters have all but disappeared.... and that's good. You have to respect what Penske has been able to do. 15 Indy 500 wins does not just 'happen'.

Congrats not only to Helio but all of Team Penske as well. They set the bar high for everyone.

Nuntius was right. I was wrong. Frank Vogel has retained his job.

------

"A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, thatís teamwork."

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

Milka does have enough curves to be a human chicane. Just shows that it's not a field of the 33 best drivers, but a field of the 33 best sponsor grabbers.

Pat on the back to Sarah. She's done an excellent job building a team and running it. Let's hope her sponsors stick around and next year she can run a full schedule.

Helio is a hell of a driver with a hell of a team. I think some of his interviews were a little 'cheesy and/or scripted' emotionally, but I guess that's what sells and draws in the crowd.

And kudos the the SAFER barriers. TK would have been in bad shape without them.

It's gotta suck to be Marco Andretti. Maybe he should change his last name.

And as required by law, any mention of the race is required to have a mention of Danica. Good run for her, but since she 'demands' to be treated like a male driver, can the media do the same ?? "Helio wins the race, Danica comes in 3rd." Maybe mention who came in 2nd ?? After all, he had quite the run also.

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

And kudos the the SAFER barriers. TK would have been in bad shape without them.

Vitor had a solid hit too. Even though he had some injuries I can't help but think it would've been worse without the SAFER barrier.

It's gotta suck to be Marco Andretti. Maybe he should change his last name.

I dunno... I think he forgot he had a brake as well as an accelerator... and that he could also lift on the accelerator....

He put himself into a bad position for the 1st lap. If he would've said "Moreas is such a clean racer I didn't have a second thought about taking that hole" I might feel a little different. Instead, Marco said something about Moreas being "Clueless..." and "Never gonna learn..." and several other things that more than implied you had to be careful of Moreas. Well, if all that is true, why wasn't Andretti careful of him?

So the way I see it: Accident = Moreas' fault.
Putting one's self in a position to be in an accident with Moreas in turn 1 on lap 1? Andretti's fault... made even worse by Andretti's comments afterwards which indicated he didn't think Moreas was a good driver.

And as required by law, any mention of the race is required to have a mention of Danica. Good run for her, but since she 'demands' to be treated like a male driver, can the media do the same ?? "Helio wins the race, Danica comes in 3rd." Maybe mention who came in 2nd ?? After all, he had quite the run also.

Seconded

Nuntius was right. I was wrong. Frank Vogel has retained his job.

------

"A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, thatís teamwork."

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

So the way I see it: Accident = Moreas' fault.
Putting one's self in a position to be in an accident with Moreas in turn 1 on lap 1? Andretti's fault... made even worse by Andretti's comments afterwards which indicated he didn't think Moreas was a good driver.

And WOW, how is it possible he STILL doesn't get it?
Reminds me of a coworker who had her insurance cancelled. None of the accidents were her fault, BUT why was she involved in so many?

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

Does anyone remember when Penske was 'the bad guy'? T-shirts that said "Anyone but Penske" weren't unusual. But at some point it all changed. Sure, there were fans too... and fans of his drivers... But there was always that "Anybody but Penske" undercurrent too.

Was it Rick Mears? Giving Al Unser Sr the ride that got him his 4th Indy 500? Did it change in '94 with fan favorite Little Al's 2nd win? In '95 when Penske's team didn't even make the race showing they were human after all? Maybe it was a view of the landscape without Penske during the split? Is it Helio?

I was one who hated Roger Penske with the fire of 1000 suns. I don't any more. I think missing the race in '95 humbled him a bit. I still hated him while his team was in CART. Once they came here with Helio and Gil it was kind of like his drivers were so likable I didn't hate him any more.

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

Does anyone remember when Penske was 'the bad guy'? T-shirts that said "Anyone but Penske" weren't unusual. But at some point it all changed. Sure, there were fans too... and fans of his drivers... But there was always that "Anybody but Penske" undercurrent too.

Was it Rick Mears? Giving Al Unser Sr the ride that got him his 4th Indy 500? Did it change in '94 with fan favorite Little Al's 2nd win? In '95 when Penske's team didn't even make the race showing they were human after all? Maybe it was a view of the landscape without Penske during the split? Is it Helio?

Maybe it's all that rolled up into a realization that Penske has gotten where he's gotten by "playing the right way". Hard work, good character, and more hard work. He's not just throwing more money at running his team, he's throwing more effort at it. He's surrounded himself with quality people, and people that have a healthy respect for the Indianapolis 500 and open wheel racing.

Whatever the case, the Penske haters have all but disappeared.... and that's good. You have to respect what Penske has been able to do. 15 Indy 500 wins does not just 'happen'.

Congrats not only to Helio but all of Team Penske as well. They set the bar high for everyone.

As a Rick Mears fan, I was surprised to go to the track on race day in the early nineties and discover all the anti-Penske feelings. Penske does more than any other person (including Tony George) to keep the Indy 500 at the top of the list.

I think that became obvious during the late-90s and when Penske returned earlier this decade.

Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
And life itself, rushing over me
Life itself, the wind in black elms,
Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

More Photos...

Yes, we have balloons...

While Matos had a shot at Rookie of the Year, and Conway kept his car in one piece to finish 18th and on the lead lap, Alex Tagliani is the likely winner. He might also be in the running for the oldest Rookie of the Year. He drove from 33rd to 11th.

Sharp didn't really have a day to remember (finishing 14th and never really a contender), but I like photos with smoke rolling off the tires!

Penske's other full-time driver: Ryan Briscoe. Penske has been credited with saying you can teach a driver to stay out of wrecks but you can't teach a driver to go fast. Since joining Penske Briscoe has remained fast and gotten much better at finishing races.

Ryan Hunter-Reay spent all month trying to get his car hooked up. He finally got it hooked up on race day... but not the way he meant!
Sorry... that joke has been ripening on the vine all day since I saw the photos I'd taken of the car on the hook. It also crossed my mind that it's become so common place to see Tony Kanaan's car on the hook at Indy that I didn't even bother to snap a photo of it (since battery power was so low).
-

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

We were going to park at the airport and pay the (now) 30.00ea for the shuttle service but apparently the charter service was not operating in the same way Indygo did. No "race parking" signs etc at the airport that we saw directing people to the proper area and we ended up just driving on in toward the track and paying to park in someone's yard. With all the radio talk we were worried we didn't have time to figure out the bus deal or take chances with parking. Well, we could've parked closer... and we had little trouble getting in at the gate. In fact, if we would've went to our 'suggested' gate #6 there would've been in with NO waiting.

.

Hmm, that's weird. We went to the airport as always and there were plenty of "race day parking signs" directing us to the area to park (with people waving you in as you got closer). They then shuttled you from the parking lot to the area where you paid for your tickets and boarded the charter bus.

It sucks that the charter buses were 15 more a ticket, but at least parking was cheaper than it has always been (11 as opposed to 20), so with that in mind it was 20 dollars more to ride the shuttle this year than it was to take the indygo bus for the 2 of us. And the ride back to the airport on the charter was much quicker than the indygo bus for whatever reason.

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

Hmm, that's weird. We went to the airport as always and there were plenty of "race day parking signs" directing us to the area to park (with people waving you in as you got closer). They then shuttled you from the parking lot to the area where you paid for your tickets and boarded the charter bus.

It sucks that the charter buses were 15 more a ticket, but at least parking was cheaper than it has always been (11 as opposed to 20), so with that in mind it was 20 dollars more to ride the shuttle this year than it was to take the indygo bus for the 2 of us. And the ride back to the airport on the charter was much quicker than the indygo bus for whatever reason.

I've always came in a bit of the back way without ever getting on/off the interstate. In year's past there were checkerboard signs saying "Race Parking" (or something like that) as we headed north. But I never saw one sign going this way this year. IIRC, we headed north and then turned west toward the bus area where the parking was. The area where we always parked before was the area where the buses arrived and departed from so there was no reason to be shuttled from the parking lot to the buses.

That said... I thought parking was always 10.00 and the bus was 20.00 last year. Maybe I just paid with a 20.00 and got a 5 back and just don't remember it. Pretty certain parking was 10.00 though.

Maybe all those years of getting there for the first buses meant I parked in a different place than later arrivals did and so this new arrangement changed things more for me than it did people that arrived after that first lot was full in years past.

If the radio hadn't been talking about the traffic jams and crowd increase we would've tried to sniff out the changes more but we felt we needed to get parked and into the track before the gates got overloaded with lines.

Nuntius was right. I was wrong. Frank Vogel has retained his job.

------

"A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, thatís teamwork."

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

I've always came in a bit of the back way without ever getting on/off the interstate. In year's past there were checkerboard signs saying "Race Parking" (or something like that) as we headed north. But I never saw one sign going this way this year. IIRC, we headed north and then turned west toward the bus area where the parking was. The area where we always parked before was the area where the buses arrived and departed from so there was no reason to be shuttled from the parking lot to the buses.

That said... I thought parking was always 10.00 and the bus was 20.00 last year. Maybe I just paid with a 20.00 and got a 5 back and just don't remember it. Pretty certain parking was 10.00 though.

Maybe all those years of getting there for the first buses meant I parked in a different place than later arrivals did and so this new arrangement changed things more for me than it did people that arrived after that first lot was full in years past.

If the radio hadn't been talking about the traffic jams and crowd increase we would've tried to sniff out the changes more but we felt we needed to get parked and into the track before the gates got overloaded with lines.

OK, that makes sense. We came from 465 north and then got on the new airport expressway that runs with I-70 which I guess is considered the "main" way. That's probably why it was so clearly marked for us.

I swear parking was 20 but we always parked in the regular airport garage. Was there a specific race parking area back then?

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

Yes... there was parking right where the buses were arriving and departing from at the airport. I always wondered what happened when/if they filled those lots. But we always got there about when the buses started running so there was always parking there.

There was parking, a couple of ticket booths for the Indygo bus race passes, and a couple of porta-johns too.

For all I know maybe buses left from a couple of locations at the track. All I know is I came in off the backroads, drove straight north (easily following checkered signs), took a left, and then IIRC that was it... Make a left into the parking area, pay, get the boarding pass, and head to the track on the next bus out.

And now that I think about it... buses likely didn't leave from any other location because there was only 1 group of buses headed back to the airport from the Speedway and they went to the area I'm talking about. I don't know if they shuttled people to/from the terminal or not though.

Nuntius was right. I was wrong. Frank Vogel has retained his job.

------

"A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, thatís teamwork."

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

Why is there so much hate around for Milka Duno? I don't get that at all. She completed 199 laps, was running at the end, moved up from 32nd to 20th, and kept her car out of trouble which is something you cannot say about many of the drivers who finished behind her. Let me ask this: If you put any of the drivers behind her in her car, is the order of finish different for that car? Can someone explain the hate?

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

Why is there so much hate around for Milka Duno? I don't get that at all. She completed 199 laps, was running at the end, moved up from 32nd to 20th, and kept her car out of trouble which is something you cannot say about many of the drivers who finished behind her. Let me ask this: If you put any of the drivers behind her in her car, is the order of finish different for that car? Can someone explain the hate?

I don't hate her. Kegboy was at the race and said he thought she did O.K. She managed to to wreck which is more than you can say about Marco.

Some people don't like her because of where she gets her sponsorship money from.

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

Why is there so much hate around for Milka Duno? I don't get that at all. She completed 199 laps, was running at the end, moved up from 32nd to 20th, and kept her car out of trouble which is something you cannot say about many of the drivers who finished behind her. Let me ask this: If you put any of the drivers behind her in her car, is the order of finish different for that car? Can someone explain the hate?

I'm not sure she is hated but more accurately viewed as a non-racer - more of a survivor. That said, with the 500 purse being what it is maybe isn't such a bad strategy. I also think Grace is onto something about her sponsorship money.

The best exercise of the human heart is reaching down and picking someone else up.

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

Why is there so much hate around for Milka Duno? I don't get that at all. She completed 199 laps, was running at the end, moved up from 32nd to 20th, and kept her car out of trouble which is something you cannot say about many of the drivers who finished behind her. Let me ask this: If you put any of the drivers behind her in her car, is the order of finish different for that car? Can someone explain the hate?

She finished 20th and 13 cars fell out. There were 33 cars starting the race.

She was the only car on the track still running that did not to finish on the lead lap.

There were several laps of yellow and also the yellows seemed rather evenly timed (I haven't looked at the numbers so that is just the feeling I got from being there). That helps keep the rabbits from lapping the slower cars.

It's not always about hitting the wall and taking yourself out. Sometimes it's about a lack of consistency with your speed and line. It's about forcing drivers to take evasive actions due to that inconsistency.

A driver has to deal with a driver like Milka differently than other slower cars due to the lack of consistency.

If you listen to Milka's radio it is scary how much coaching goes on. It's not just 'spotting', and it's not just encouragement. It's a constant barrage of "Hold your line" "Let him go and then get right up on him and catch the draft" "Stay with him" "Watch your line in the corners" "You're __insert doing something wrong here__"

Eventually, you hope she 'gets it' but even race experience doesn't seem to be sinking in very quickly (although Buhl says she's made improvements).

She might not be wrecking, but that might be a product of how conservative she's driving the car and the downforce on it. But the question is how many wrecks, almost wrecks, and changes of position happen because she forced a driver out of his rhythm while she's tip-toeing around the track?

Foyt IV has had his moments of being a rolling chicane as well and driving inconsistently. Ask Helio how he lost his chance at 3 Indy 500 wins in a row. Even now he had his grampa questioning him why his speed was going up and down so much during the race. Hunter-Reay (on his radio) blamed Foyt IV for his crash although the replay I saw didn't start far enough back to confirm it. RHR said Foyt IV slowed in front of him. His television interview didn't sound as accusatory though.

In any case, Milka's reputation has been earned but maybe she is improving.

Let's hope so...

Nuntius was right. I was wrong. Frank Vogel has retained his job.

------

"A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, thatís teamwork."

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

She finished 20th and 13 cars fell out. There were 33 cars starting the race.

She was the only car on the track still running that did not to finish on the lead lap.

There were several laps of yellow and also the yellows seemed rather evenly timed (I haven't looked at the numbers so that is just the feeling I got from being there). That helps keep the rabbits from lapping the slower cars.

It's not always about hitting the wall and taking yourself out. Sometimes it's about a lack of consistency with your speed and line. It's about forcing drivers to take evasive actions due to that inconsistency.

A driver has to deal with a driver like Milka differently than other slower cars due to the lack of consistency.

If you listen to Milka's radio it is scary how much coaching goes on. It's not just 'spotting', and it's not just encouragement. It's a constant barrage of "Hold your line" "Let him go and then get right up on him and catch the draft" "Stay with him" "Watch your line in the corners" "You're __insert doing something wrong here__"

Eventually, you hope she 'gets it' but even race experience doesn't seem to be sinking in very quickly (although Buhl says she's made improvements).

She might not be wrecking, but that might be a product of how conservative she's driving the car and the downforce on it. But the question is how many wrecks, almost wrecks, and changes of position happen because she forced a driver out of his rhythm while she's tip-toeing around the track?

Foyt IV has had his moments of being a rolling chicane as well and driving inconsistently. Ask Helio how he lost his chance at 3 Indy 500 wins in a row. Even now he had his grampa questioning him why his speed was going up and down so much during the race. Hunter-Reay (on his radio) blamed Foyt IV for his crash although the replay I saw didn't start far enough back to confirm it. RHR said Foyt IV slowed in front of him. His television interview didn't sound as accusatory though.

In any case, Milka's reputation has been earned but maybe she is improving.

Let's hope so...

I can appreciate all of that. But the fact remains that she didn't make the same mistakes that many of the drivers behind her did, and therefore had a much better day. She was running at the finish and they were not. Again I ask, if you had given her car to the drivers behind her, does that car do better? Or do they crash it on lap 1 like Marco, or yet again crash out of Indy like Kanaan?

Re: Bball's Indy 500 Photos and Comments (2009)

Let me ask this: If you put any of the drivers behind her in her car, is the order of finish different for that car? Can someone explain the hate?

Since teammates John Andretti and Mike Conway finished a lap ahead of her I think it's reasonable to assume that several of the drivers behind her would've fared better in her car.

Some are out because they had cars capable of winning and played their hands a little too aggressively. Maybe in a second tier ride like Milka's they don't drive quite so aggressively. Some of them are out because Milka is the car that broke their rhythm and caused them to get out of the groove and into the wall. Last year's Rookie of the Year Hunter-Reay claimed to have a car with gremlins that his team couldn't figure out... and that his teammate confirmed wasn't just RHR's imagination. Assuming Milka's car felt better to him, I could see him doing better with it.

Oriel Servia's car fell out with a mechanical (or electrical) gremlin... I easily could see him doing better in her car.

Vitor would certainly have done better and it's really hard to assign blame to him for the accident he was involved in.

Tony Kanaan's car had something break to put him in the wall. He easily would've been in a position to do better in a car that didn't break on its own.

Just because a driver made an aggressive move in a car capable of being aggressive doesn't mean they'd make that same mistake in a car that wasn't quite as capable.

Last year Buddy Rice drove a D-R car to 8th place at the 500 so that's another sign the team can prepare a Top 10 car if the driver can do his/her part (Milka drove for D-R).

BTW- How is it Buddy Rice, a recent 500 winner, couldn't get a ride? If Tony George is looking for something to 'fix' he better look at that scenario fully. Does the IRL have a program to help drivers find sponsorship? Maybe they need one.

Maybe they need a program where an Indylights team is qualified for some type of IRL funding if they put a veteran 500 driver in a one-off Indy program. Utilize some of the track corporate sponsorship opportunities to fund that program.

Last edited by Bball; 05-26-2009 at 01:02 PM.

Nuntius was right. I was wrong. Frank Vogel has retained his job.

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"A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, thatís teamwork."